It’s hard to argue that the ability to drive digital transformation is one of the key differentiations in the banking space.
For over a few decades, it has been a competitive factor for banks – big or small, regional or international. In that time, IT spending in the industry has increased across the board at a median of almost 50%, with a whopping $50bn spent annually by JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Banks of America, and Wells Fargo alone.
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Ever-growing investments in digital transformation
With such massive spending (that continues to grow), do regional banks stand a chance of competing with larger organizations in digital transformation efforts? What tools and approaches could potentially be used to keep up with ever-growing customer expectations?
More expensive doesn’t always mean better, as is the case with high IT expenditure; although it does increase the odds, it does not always correlate with superior performance. A study from McKinsey pointed out that it is common for banks with large IT budgets to overspend on secondary goals and get lost in an overwhelming number of simultaneously run digital transformation projects.
Although the largest banks pave the way, regional players do their best to emulate the strategy through meticulous planning and the right investments.
Unlocking the power of no-code
One of the possible strategies for regional banks to accelerate digital transformation is the adoption of the no-code approach. The no-code is an approach in software development that, instead of traditional coding, uses visual designers to configure UI/UX, automate workflows, build data models, and set up integrations.
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By GlobalDataThanks to no-code design tools, business technologists without deep technical skills but with an understanding of needs and processes can contribute to development efforts and form joint teams with IT professionals while working on solving complex automation tasks.
In the meantime, applications of simple and medium complexity can be deployed by business technologists with minimal help from the IT side following a step-by-step no-code development and governance process.
By adopting no-code strategies, regional banks can significantly expand the number of employees that are working on modernising applications and automating processes.
Instead of leaning on smaller IT teams, these banks can tap into a much larger pool of resources by training and certifying them on no-code platform capabilities and specific methodologies for the collaborative development process. As a result, applications that would take months and years to be deployed can be delivered in weeks and sometimes in days. This approach significantly accelerates time-to-market and brings a very strong alignment between IT and business functions.
Marrying technology with business needs
Regional banks can use no-code technologies to launch a wide variety of business-critical applications (that directly impact customer experience), from modern lending or account opening to customer onboarding, branch consultations, cross/up sales offers, approvals, KYC and compliance, and many more. These apps can be integrated into an internal banking ecosystem through APIs. They can be used as stand-alone applications or as a part of a seamlessly connected bundle consolidating experience and data for employees and decreasing the number of software products used.
Competing in a crowded space through agility
So, it doesn’t always come down to size, but rather a performance and innovative approach. High-performing banks display a strong commitment to governance and spending alignment suitable to the needs of the business.
They reduce complexity and cost by using diligently planned governance and more unified application ecosystems with fewer standalone solutions, fewer integrations, and fewer data siloes. All the while, high-performing banks maximise resources by using IT as a strategic enabler, rather than the focal point of digital transformation, for key business functions yielding greater value and growth. And the no-code approach plays right into this strategy.
The world of banking is being reframed faster than ever before, driven by digital transformation and customer expectations. To compete in an already crowded banking landscape, regional banks need to leverage their inherent competence – business agility – and interlace it with the right modern technology to strengthen its benefits.
When financial institutions prioritise digital strategies that reflect their growth goals, concentrate on strong IT-business alignment, and invest in modern platforms that empower non-technical users, they can maintain a strong foothold in the competitive banking sphere, probably even more so than the industry steamrollers with oversized IT expenditure.
By leveraging the no-code approach smart regional banks can significantly accelerate their pace of digital transformation, eliminate technical debt, and delight customers with slick, hyper-personalised processes while staying resource efficient.
Andie Dovgan is Chief Growth Officer at Creatio
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